Monday, February 20, 2017

In Alabama, which has the highest death penalty rate
per capita in the nation, legislators have taken a step to reduce the arbitrary
application of capital punishment in the state, reported the PacificStandard.

The Alabama House Judiciary Committee passed a bill that would stop judges from having
the final say in sentencing for capital cases in the state, and instead require
a unanimous jury to hand down a death sentence. Usually, a jury decides a
defendant’s fate in capital cases, but Alabama is the only state that still has
“judicial override,” in which a judge can overrule a jury’s recommendation for
a life or death sentence. A similar bill, which includes no language to require
a unanimous jury, is concurrently making its way through the Alabama Senate.

Ironically enough, when judicial override originated
in Florida in the 1970s, it was intended as a way to prevent juries from
over-sentencing the death penalty. After the Supreme Court struck down the
death penalty in 1972 for its arbitrary and discriminatory application, Florida
came up with the judicial override scheme, in which juries recommend a
sentence, but judges could override that decision with sufficient
justification. The Supreme Court’s concerns were assuaged, and capital
punishment was reinstituted in 1976. Alabama adopted a similar judge override
statute in 1981, and it’s the only state that still uses the practice, after
Delaware and Florida eliminated their override systems last year.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.